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Mitosis: a dynamic view

Dynamic filaments in the mitotic spindle

Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology volume 9, pages s8–s9 (2010)Cite this article

A decisive step towards the solution to this problem was realized in the 1950s, when polarized light microscopy and live-cell imaging allowed the limitations of fixed samples to be overcome, and opened the way for a dynamic view of biological processes. During the following two decades, Shinya Inoue and his co-workers pioneered live-cell imaging by developing microscopes that allowed them to visualize parallel spindle fibres that polarized the light thanks to their birefringent properties. Crucially, birefringence could be measured and correlated with structural alterations occurring in the fibres during mitosis or in response to given experimental conditions.

“...protein polymerization dynamics drive morphogenesis of, and force production by, the mitotic spindle...” Tim Mitchison

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References

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Inoue, S. & Sato, H. Cell motility by labile association of molecules. The nature of mitotic spindle fibers and their role in chromosome movement. J. Gen. Physiol. 50, 259–292 (1967)

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FURTHER READING

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  3. Gorbsky, G. J., Sammak, P. J. & Borisy, G. G. Microtubule dynamics and chromosome motion visualized in living anaphase cells. J. Cell Biol. 106, 1185–1192 (1988)

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  4. Mitchison, T. J. Polewards microtubule flux in the mitotic spindle: evidence from photoactivation of fluorescence. J. Cell Biol. 109, 637–652 (1989)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Associate Editor, Nature Cell Biology,

    Silvia Grisendi

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  1. Silvia Grisendi
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Grisendi, S. Mitosis: a dynamic view. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 9 (Suppl 1), s8–s9 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrm2559

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